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Jake's name whispered throughout the room. I sunk into my seat and dropped my face into my hands. My stomach spiraled into an endless pit, threatening to swallow me whole.

I may be able to disappear to another realm, but logistically it proved a less than a convenient ability. I ignored my prickling hands and picked up my pen.

"Wow, did I read that wrong." Matt dusted himself off and straddled his chair to face me. "That glance you gave me when you came in was because this is Jake's seat, wasn't it?"

Keeping my gaze on the desk, I bit my lip and nodded.

He wiped his hand across the back of his neck. "I feel like the biggest—"

"Ass?"

"I was going to say jerk, but yeah, that fits too." He grabbed the copy of Hamlet and fanned open its pages. "You liked him, didn't you?"

"Hey, new guy," Wynter said over our classmate's chatter.

Matt looked up meeting Wynter's icy stare.

"My girl Tessa is already dealing with enough crap without you adding to the pile. Capisce?" She leaned forward on her elbows and narrowed her eyes. "Maybe try focusing on the assignment, you know, before she shoves you into next week and I help her."

"Thanks." The corners of Matt's lips turned up into a smirk. "I'll take that under advisement."

Wynter tilted her head not taking her sight off of him. When the distinct sound of heels striking the hallway floor got louder, she glanced at the door and turned back to face Nick, who was scribbling notes on a page in the middle of her desk.

Score, one for Wynter, and zero for the new guy. I guess I had a point too. Well, more like one for Jake and that solid punch of his—but Matt didn't know that.

"You're stronger than you look," Matt said rubbing a spot on his chest. "And fast too."

I raised an eyebrow. Did he mean for a girl? Geez, even when he apologized, he was irritating.

"Whoa." He held up his hands. "No need to get defensive. I only meant, for someone petite, you pack a hell of a punch." He continued to rub the spot with the heel of his hand.

"I guess it goes to show, you can't judge a girl by her size." I tried to hold back a smile bubbling to the surface.

If Jake hit him as hard as I thought he did, Matt would feel that frosty sting for the next couple of days.

"Should we plan our schedule to work on this?" He plucked a book from the center of the stack and looked across at me.

He can't be serious. How long can one English assignment take? "A schedule?"

"This assignment is worth thirty percent of our grade. You really weren't listening were you?" He grabbed a pen and scribbled something on the paper. "It's supposed to take us the rest of the year to finish. Like it, or not in your case, we're stuck with each other until the end of the school year."

He tore a strip of paper from the lined page and passed it to me. "Here."

"What's this? I glanced at the scrap he'd handed me. "Your phone number?" Honestly, this guy knew no limits.

"No—it's not what you're thinking." He clicked his pen, retracting the tip. "I need an A in this class, you know, for college. Without time to complete this assignment during class, we don't have a choice but to meet outside of this room, do we?"

"Fine," I said, with my voice laced with the disappointment of having to admit he was right. "But only to work on the assignment. Got it?" I crossed my arms and rested back in my chair.

"Down girl." He let loose a smile that would warm most teenage girls out of their shirts. "It's just a homework assignment, not a date."

Something told me he had yet to be convinced of that statement. The classroom babble decreased with Mrs. K's hurried footsteps entering the room. Her keys fumbled from her grasp onto the desk.

"Well," she said taking a deep breath. "Where were we..." She glanced up at the clock, nine forty-four. "Make sure you meet with your partner regularly to work on this assignment."

The bell sounded marking the end of the period. My classmates, packing their things into the bags paid her little attention. As per usual, most of them escaped the room at record speed. Wynter waved and gave me an apologetic look, but she had to go. Her next class was on the other side of the building. We'd catch up later anyway.

"I have failed teams in the past," Mrs. Kennedy said, emphasizing the word have, as people pushed past her to the door. "Your assignment outline is due next week."

Matt tossed his bag over his shoulder and stood next to my desk. "Shall we?"

"You seriously still want me to show you around school today?" Maybe Jake didn't hit him hard enough.

"And miss all the fun? You can't get rid of me that easily." He looked like he might let out a chuckle.

He could say that again. I'd only known him for forty-five minutes, and mono was already proving easier to get rid of. The silence between us was only broken by the sound of the clock marking the passing seconds. All I wanted was to find Jake—not be saddled with babysitting new guy all day.

"Don't look now, but I think Mrs. Kennedy is looking this way," Matt whispered.

I mentally groaned to myself and slid the pile of books from my desk. I still had to talk to her after school about my detention, if I messed up anything else up before then? Yeah, well, that wasn't something I wanted to contemplate.

"Come on." I brushed passed him not looking back to see if he was following.

It was lunch time, and I could almost taste freedom. My hand held the metal door handle that led outside until Sophie pulled back my arm, halting me in my tracks.

"Oh my God, I just heard about Jake," her voice quaked. "I can't even imagine what you're going through."

She's got that right. Nobody but Jake got it, and even he seemed to be taking his death better than me. My eyes burned, and I wiped my cheek.

She wrapped her arms around me in an awkward hug, pinning my arms to my side. "If there's anything I can do. Anything—I mean it, just ask."

She was the eighth person I'd run into since English class offering their condolences. I don't know if I should feel supported by my classmates or horrified that half the school knew about my crush on Jake. Apparently, I was terrible at hiding my feelings for him.

I nodded and reached for the handle. "Thanks, I just need some air."

"Of course..." She hesitated before turning to leave. "I can come along if you like. You know, if you'd like someone to talk to."

I only just managed to ditch Matt when I parked him in front a few of our classmates, then escaped to the washroom. When I came out, one of the school's football players blocked his view of the hall. I had to find Jake, and that wasn't going to happen with Sophie or Matt tagging along.

"Thanks, maybe another time?"

Sophie bit her lip and glanced at the door like she wasn't sure she should leave me alone. "You're sure? I don't mind."

I checked at my watch, then pushed the door ajar. "I'm sure. All I need is some air."

She gave a too quick smile and hugged her books to her chest. "Okay, see you in class."

Free from the confines of evaluating looks and pity, I filled my lungs with the crisp fall air. A burst of laughter echoed beyond the corner of the brick wall. On warm days, students often hung out on the hillside during lunch. If there were one reason to build this old castle here, the view of the valley was it.

The paving stones under my feet led around the building to the lookout, but I wasn't interested in company—at least not from the living.

I stepped onto the dirt path with purpose, leaving the peering towers behind in search of the parish ruins. Golden leaves crunched under my quickened pace, and the forest pine scents embraced me. A breeze rattled the trees, sending an array of scarlet and pumpkin colored leaves swirling around me.

Dappled sunlight filtered through the branches lighting the fir needles covering the path. It was only a short walk, and the pathway of overgrown trees started to thin. I didn't need to look up to see the rundown building with its caved in roof and sagging windows to know I was almost there. The hum of my sword and prickling hands made it clear the parish's cemetery drew near.

A soft jangle of bells sounded in my head, noting a ghost's presence.

Crooked tombstones flowered the small plot behind the church. The past lives hidden beneath the tall grasses and over grown roots may seem gone to most, but to me, the life beyond perked up with my approach.

"Vexed, are you not?" Agatha's thick English accent coated her speech.

She giggled, her auburn braids trailing down the back of her long vintage dress. Aggie floated between the second-row markers, then vanished.

"Would I be here if I wasn't." I scanned the grounds for the eleven-year old Victorian brat.

Aggie let out an amused giggle, reappearing under a colorful Aspen, perched on the back of a stone bench. "Seek and find is best when played together."

I held back a smirk. It was weird talking to ghosts who retained their era's diction. Who uses the word vexed or seek and find?

"I don't have time for games, Aggie." I took a step past the cemetery gate. "Or for washing mud from my hair. So, don't even think about trying that one again."

Even from where I stood, her puckered lips and tented cheeks made it apparent she still found pulling that trick to get my sucker still funny. Mischieviant spirits and their stupid pranks.

"You're always bragging that you know about everything that happens in the castle. I've come to see if it's true."

She disappeared, then flashed into form right in front of me with her hands on her hips. "Telling the truth does not make one a bragger."

"Prove it, squirt."

Her mouth dropped open. Aggie's translucent form flickered bright white, then faded to a washed out gray.

"Honestly, I don't even know why I came." I stuffed my hands in my jean pockets and rocked back on my heels. "You probably haven't even met the new spirit yet."

"Bah, foolish Sword of the Grieved." She ran her finger along her tombstone. "Interested in the one known as Jake, are you? 'Cause he's a might interested in you."

"Oh please." I rolled my eyes in an attempt to convince her there was nothing between Jake and me. "You don't honestly believe that. A necromancer and a ghost?" I let out a chuckle that even I might believe. "You have quite the imagination. I should come down here more often to hear what you dream up next."

She tilted her head, and one of her braids flipped over her shoulder. "Still—"

"I'm not going to let a ghost wander the school without having spoken to them, am I?"

"So. What do want from me?" She placed her palms on the headstone behind her and hopped up, dropping her weight on the stone edge, swaying her foot through the tall grass. "It's not like I can deliver him."

True. Aggie's ghost didn't resonate enough energy to do anything other than pranking my butt. She knew where Jake was though.

"Since you don't know where he is." I took a step backward like I was going to leave and pulled a cinnamon candy stick from my pocket. "I guess I'll just eat this myself."

Before I could even take another step, Aggie stood in front of me, eyes fixed on the red and white sugary treat.

"And if I know of his whereabouts?"

I waved the candy in front of her. "It's all yours."

"Deal." She snatched at the stick.

I held the candy high above her head out of reach. "Where?"

She pouted, her fingers fidgeting with her skirt. "It's not like you wouldn't find him anyway."

"Oh?"

"Jake..." Her cheeks flushed, and she glanced at the ground, then in a tiny voice she whispered, "He's in your dorm room."

Before I could even register her words, she disappeared with my stick of candy.

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